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The introduction of the PlayStation 3 included the Cell processor, a chipset designed by Sony to create the most advanced home video game console to date. Due to a number of possibilites, the results never quite reached Sony's high expectations, and it looks like the company may be moving to a different processor architecture for the PlayStation 4.

According to Kotaku, the PlayStation 3's successor will abandon the existing Cell processor in favor of a chip produced by AMD. Originally reported by Forbes, Sony's shift to an AMD produced chip would stray from its current partner and AMD rival, NVIDIA.

If taken to be true, developers can begin creating games using existing AMD architecture, as opposed to waiting for Sony to release new technology. Considering this, developers could, theoretically, already have the tools to start working on the next generation of home console gaming. Straying away from proprietary technology can also result in more consistent ports between platforms, something that has been a tough challenge for some PlayStation titles.

There is actually a business reason that programming the PS2 and PS3 was such a hassle - that made it harder to port games developed for it to something else. They counted on anyone wanting to put their game on the PS(2|3) no matter how hard it was to program for, and for the PS2 that basically worked. Since Sony was the big dog at the launch of each console, they played defensive. The original PS was very easy to program for compared to the competition - also quite intentional, as they were trying to break in to a new market. According to this logic, they should make the PS4 program itself.

The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.

That seems somewhat apocryphal. I don't recall too many games that weren't multi-platform during the PS2 era, and almost universally all ports were regarded as slightly shinier on the GameCube and XBOX thanks to their marginally better processing power.

Certainly, with the PS3 they saw themselves as bulletproof thanks to the status of their brand, and ended up doing a series or risky moves (cell, price, forcing blu-ray) that ended up severely curtailing their market penetration. Programming here would be the icing on the perception cake as port after port looked inferior on a system with superior power.

Yeah sorry, MW3. The mystery that is lag compensation seems to be rearing its ugly head again recently. People are going wireless so that they DON'T get host. Yet I can have great games with 3 bars and great games with 4 bars and then terrible games with 3 and 4 bars. God only knows what they're tweaking; we went from version 1.5.410.12 to 1.5.514.3 the other day (yes I've been sad enough to note it down).

Even if you don't own a PS3, you could sell the two games and put the money/credit towards the 360 game of your choice. I'm moving into a new house with a bonus room that I'm converting into an office/game room, so I picked the TV up, and it looks fantastic. The screen size is perfect for gaming at a desk, and I didn't realize how good 1080p looks when the pixels are densely packed.

Comcast's recent announcement that traffic generated by Comcast's new Xbox streaming video service would not count against the cable giant's 250GB monthly data cap drew swift denunciation from the network neutrality advocates at Public Knowledge.

Supposedly if you stream the same content to your PC it does count against your cap. Confusingly so.

Supposedly if you stream the same content to your PC it does count against your cap. Confusingly so.

That's Comcastic.

Honestly, I don't have too much of a problem with it. When I read the article, I don't find it particularly dirty of Comcast. People using the service would possibly push up against the data limit anyways -- it almost seems kinda/sorta charitable of them.

What is dirty is if you use a competing service, say Netflix or Hulu on your Xbox you DO have caps if on a Comcast network. So I'd call this a unfair advantage for them vs any one offering the same service on the system.

Honestly, I don't have too much of a problem with it. When I read the article, I don't find it particularly dirty of Comcast. People using the service would possibly push up against the data limit anyways -- it almost seems kinda/sorta charitable of them.

Kotaku is citing unnamed "reliable sources" in reporting that "select developers" are already receiving development kits for the follow-up to the PS3, code-named "Orbis." It will reportedly hit stores in time for the 2013 holiday season.

Orbis will reportedly end Sony's streak of home systems that are backwards compatible with software from earlier console generations

The most intriguing bit of rumor-mongering, though, has to do with the Orbis' reported system-wide protections against used games, which will tie each new retail game disc to a PlayStation Network account that must be actively signed in when the game starts up. Preowned game discs would supposedly still work in a secondary console, but would only play in a limited "trial" mode unless the new customer pays a fee to unlock the full game.

Every four years, EA releases a soccer game based on the UEFA championship. EA renewed the license for the franchise long enough to make a 2012 version. However, there won't actually be a standalone UEFA release this year -- instead, EA is putting out UEFA Euro 2012 on April 24 as a DLC pack for FIFA 12. EA still refers to it as the "officially licensed videogame," but it's a downloadable expansion.

Why relegate the UEFA to expansion pack status? Mostly because FIFA 12 has been so popular, EA communications manager Steve Frost told Gamasutra. "We felt this was the best way to extend that experience and deliver fresh new content to our fans," he said. Releasing UEFA as DLC helps keep players engaged in FIFA longer.

"We expect that some fans who may not have FIFA 12 will want to play Euro 2012 and therefore purchase both," he said later in the interview, "but the bigger opportunity for us is to offer our loyal and passionate FIFA fans new content." Chances are, if you like soccer, you'd be interested in FIFA anyway, so this seems like a win-win.

There have to be business reasons for EA to be doing this. Anyone willing to make a guess?

There have to be business reasons for EA to be doing this. Anyone willing to make a guess?

Wonder what the price is going to be, and what they won't have to pay for in terms of burning disks, making jackets, distribution etc. I bet that DLC is far easier to manage than a 'normal' game distribution, and I bet the margins are also greater.

Just the opposite for me. Blocking out used games is a crock of sh*t, digital or not.

Works great for Steam and iOS. Frankly, I'd be amazed if they didn't do this.

The console makers will abandon discs eventually. And when you buy a huge game, the store would only download 1/4 of the game or so, and the rest would download overnight. That way, you can start playing right way.

The console makers are looking at Apple and Valve's huge piles of money and they see that's the future.

The console makers will abandon discs eventually. And when you buy a huge game, the store would only download 1/4 of the game or so, and the rest would download overnight. That way, you can start playing right way.

Comcast and AT&T can't wait, they are going to make a KILLING in the next few years.

The real problem with Kinect Star Wars is that most of the game feels specifically designed to show off one (and only one) specific control function. Here's the part where you duck to avoid the low hanging tree branch. Here's the part where you slowly lift your arms to lift an inconvenient tree stump off of an ally. Here's the part where you hold your hand in front of you to deflect incoming missiles for a minute or so. Here's the part where you stand in place waving your arm in a figure-eight for 15 seconds to block a barrage of incoming blaster fire... yet again.

These discrete events don't flow together very naturally, and each one is usually accompanied by a voice-over explicitly telling you what to do, a little on-screen hologram illustrating what motion to make, or both. The net effect is a game that makes you feel less like an autonomous, badass Jedi and more like a participant in a really simple game of Simon Says.

And whenever the game was threatening to get exciting, the sense of flow would be interrupted by the game taking control of my character for yet another awkwardly acted cut scene, or to force my character to jog slowly down a corridor to the next enemy encounter. You'd think that a game that entrusts you with control of a freaking lightsaber would also trust you to navigate the world on your own, but Kinect Star Wars is constantly pushing you forward down one narrow path, making the detailed environments feel like so much window dressing. And that path forward seems to always go through more of the same simple timing challenges and generic enemies that you've battled many times before. Yet you'll battle them again, without actually having to evolve your underlying strategy or change up your repertoire of a few repetitive motions, the body-flailing equivalent of button mashing.

Capcom has responded to a wave of consumer complaints about its practice of charging for content shipped with the disc, but locked until that content is purchased as DLC.
When hackers found twelve finished characters hidden on the disc, Capcom announced that these would be made available later for 1600 Microsoft points, valued at $20 dollars.

"There is effectively no distinction between the DLC being ''locked'' behind the disc and available for unlocking at a later date, or being available through a full download at a later date, other than delivery mechanism."

Question is, where does the game stop and DLC start? I've seen Day 1 DLC. Was that DLC ready before the disk shipped or was it ready after the disk shipped. Then there is DLC that is just old maps re-packaged for a new game.

I guess it also depends on how much content you get with the actual game. I think I was happy with all the content that came on disk with Saint's Row 3, even though they cut MP. The DLC was fun although short.

I was happy with the disk content we got with Modern Warfare 3, there was the SP, Spec Ops Missions, Spec Ops Survival, and MP. There was alot to go through.

Day-one DLC has become common because of the way console games are developed. After the game is finished, it has to go through an approval process from the console makers. That can take a month or two. During that time, the dev team must either sit on their hands, move to another project, or work on DLC. That's why this is happening. It's not insidious, they are just keeping the devs working.

If the DLC is finished before the approval is done, naturally they are gonna put it on the disk.

I miss the days of "ship it when it's ready" and you get a solid product that didn't need 100+ MB of patches at launch. Bethesda sure as hell needs to learn to do that, they have the worse QC in the business.

I miss the days of "ship it when it's ready" and you get a solid product that didn't need 100+ MB of patches at launch. Bethesda sure as hell needs to learn to do that, they have the worse QC in the business.